More than four years after his last selection for the France team, during a friendly against Iceland in October 2018 (2-2), Dimitri Payet is still a fervent supporter of the Blues. In an interview with La Provence, he declared his admiration for Didier Deschamps, with whom he spent most of his international career. “He’s above all someone who works a lot,” he says. “He gets shot at every list, everyone wonders why he didn’t take so and so, but in the end, usually, we say thank you for making us vibrate. »
This was again the case during the World Cup in Qatar: “They made 67 million French people proud, they made kids dream, they were able to teach life lessons. “All this thanks to Didier Deschamps, the” best coach in the world “, for Dimitri Payet. “He is the best group builder among the coaches. “A vibrant tribute from the one who had particularly succeeded in his Euro 2016, but who had to give up the 2018 World Cup because of an injury contracted at the very end of the season.
Little used this season by Igor Tudor (464 minutes out of 1,350 possible in Ligue 1, only 2 games out of 6 in the Champions League), Dimitri Payet also returned to his complicated start to the year. He thinks he has to bring more to deserve to play: “I think the coach expects me to be more decisive, more sharp, whether for 15-20 minutes or when I start,” he analyzes.
“The Coupe de France must be a goal”
And he says he wants to focus on the collective, with a trophy in his sights: “Qualifying for the Champions League is the objective. Then the Coupe de France must also be a goal, obviously. Personally, it’s one of my goals, to leave a bigger mark at the club, with a trophy at stake. »
Olympique de Marseille returns to Ligue 1 this Thursday against Toulouse at the Stade Vélodrome. Dimitri Payet could take advantage of the long-term absence of Amine Harit, as well as the late returns of Jordan Veretout and Matéo Guendouzi, to get more playing time.